GEORGE O'GORMAN: Pierre-Paul frustrated with his lack of production

New York Giants' Jason Pierre-Paul (90) reacts after making a sack against the Carolina Panthers during the third quarter of an NFL football game in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

Jason Pierre-Paul says he’s frustrated. More than he’s ever been in his football career.

Now at least the Giants defensive end knows how offensive linemen feel when they keep him from getting to their quarterback.

Pierre-Paul’s frustration four games into this season stem from the lack of production he feels he’s making for the Giants’ pass rush.

He did have a sack against Tampa Bay in Week 2 and shared a sack in the win at Carolina Panthers two weeks ago, but went without a sack against the Eagles last Sunday.

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Granted, he’s only through one quarter of the season, but Pierre-Paul knows the spotlight is on him every time he rushes the quarterback. After all, he did have 16.5 quarterback takedowns in 2011 — fourth most in Giants history — and the reason he made Associated Press’ All-Pro team.

“The past four games have been very frustrating to me,” he acknowledged the other day as the G-Men got ready for Sunday’s 1 p.m. kickoff against the winless Cleveland Browns, a game in which you would think he could fatten his defensive numbers.

“I’ve got to put all this past me and just move on. We’ve got a lot more football to be played and it’s just been four games. This is week five, so we just need a win.”

And Pierre-Paul needs a few more sacks to re-establish himself as one of the premier pass-rushers in the league and one of the main reasons Big Blue brought home the Super Bowl trophy in February.

Pierre-Paul claims his mental state does not stem from the double-team blocking he has to fight through, but rather getting himself in the right mind frame when he lines up on the field.

“When I say frustrating, it’s not as in football-wise, just in myself. I can be a better player than what I’m playing now. I’m not used to playing like this,” he said.

He’s fortunate, because his teammates aren’t objecting to his play and neither are head coach Tom Coughlin and defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.

“Let’s hope it’s coming,” Coughlin said.

“Everybody is concerned with where he is, just as they are with all the ends. You’re getting formations. If you saw last week’s game, you’re getting multiple tight ends, what I call ‘a box formation’ over there.

“That’s all to reduce the ability of the defensive end to just rush up the field to get to the quarterback,” Coughlin pointed out. “When you see those types of formations, typically on passing downs, you’re aware of the fact that there is concern.”

Which leads to concern about Pierre-Paul’s lack of productivity.

“I can be a much better player. I just need to get hungry and get after it,” says Pierre-Paul. “I can’t wait until somebody turns it on, so I can turn it on. So I’ve just got to go out there and do what I do best, which is playing hardcore football.”

What fuels the Giants’ pass rush is the competitiion the defensive front has in trying to outdo each other. When you’re going against All-Pros Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck, and ocassionally Marvin Austin and Linvale Joseph. it’s natural to get frustrated when you don’t get to the QB first.

“I feel like I haven’t been having fun lately, like I’m kind of stressed a little. But I made an oath to myself that I’m just going to go out there and have fun.

“People have high expectations of me, so it kind of brings me down a little knowing I got to live up to that. But in the sense I have to have fun too,” says Pierre-Paul

“I can’t just go out there thinking I’m gonna get the job done because I’m Jason Pierre-Paul. It doesn’t work that way. You need to go out there and have practice and do what coach tells you and that’s where it comes from. It starts from practice and you just get after the quarterback and stop the run.”